78 years ago, the Japanese Empire began it's conquest in the Pacific. Dragging many countries and peoples into a terrible and horrifying war they were unprepared for. For the allied garrisons left in the Pacific, they suddenly had the world turned out and smashed onto them. These garrisons would fight until surrender, for as long as they were able.

This is Fort Drum, a coastal defence fortress in Manila bay in the Philippines. It was the last position firing against the Japanese Invasion forces in the Philippines, and surrendered on May 6 1942 alongside the remaining forces in the Philippines.

The Philippines, Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, Borneo, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies were all captured by the Japanese. However, with the Philippines fighting until May of 1942, the garrison almost held out until the Battle of Midway. The Wake island garrison held for several weeks against the enemy, as did the British Garrison of Hong Kong and several other places fighting for months. This would draw Japanese forces thin, and when followed by large naval battles, would assist in bringing the Japanese assault to a halt in mid 1942.


Many of the people who were involved on the Allied side, would perish, not from combat with the enemy, but by terrible crimes against humanity, and many more lives would be lost to retake some of these places, and defeat the Japanese forces.

by  Myshu and requested by me to help remember all of those who would never see home again.